Promises Made ch 13

A Small Velvet Box Says it All

More than an hour had passed since she received the phone call from John and still no ambulance; Marlena was very worried. John was still sleeping restlessly on the couch, moaning in pain and periodically calling out for her, but just as Marlena was about to panic, the phone rang, distracting her.

"Hello, John Black's room," she answered somewhat hesitantly, wondering who might be calling. Then, she remembered that Carrie and Austin had stayed with Belle and they were probably concerned. "Marlena.. how is John, is he allright?"

"Oh, Carrie, he's very sick right now. I think it's his appendix because he's distended in that area and he's been vomiting all morning according to Brady. He needs to have it removed."

Carrie had been watching the clock waiting for a clock and commented about that passsage of time, "Marlena, why isn't he on the way to the hospital?" she asked, almost accusingly, frightened for the man she still loved as a father.

"Because of the weather.. the first ambulance was in a wreck on the way here, they rerouted another one, but it hasn't gotten here yet. There are problems all over Salem."

"What happens to John, if it doesn't get there pretty soon? I remember a girlfriend of mine when I was little almost died from a ruptured appendix and they caught it right away."

Marlena was worried already and didn't want to face that possibility at the moment, "Carrie that's not going to happen to John!" she said rather intensely and Carrie was taken aback by it.

"Marlena...you don't have to yell at me, I'm just worried about him. Isn't there something else we can do, some other way to get him in to the hospital?" she asked. Then it suddenly occurred to her, "What about the Jeep, Marlena, couldn't you drive him there that way, it has four wheel drive and he said the other day that he bought some chains, just in case."

"Carrie, you're brilliant! Of course we can take him in the Jeep, I don't know why I didn't think of that sooner."

Carrie helped her out by teasing her a little bit, "You know, Marlena, I think you're right, you should have thought about that immediately. What's gotten into you lately, anyway? I mean it's not like you were under stress or anything, or had anyone else to worry about. Yea, come to think of it, why didn't you come up with that idea yourself ?"

Marlena chuckled, getting the point quite clearly, "Thank you, Carrie. Yes, we'll try to get John to the hospital in the Jeep if the ambulance doesn't get here in ten more minutes. Please stay put, the weather is horrible out there."

"Marlena, Mike called earlier, saying he had news for Roman and he mentioned that he was heading over to the Salem Inn because one of his older patients was having some problems that he was concerned about and he didn't want the person to try to drive. He should be there now, why don't you have him paged?"

"Carrie that's wonderful, it would be great to have him examine John. I'm admittedly a little rusty on the medical end of things and I could be wrong about this. I'll call you when I know something more, thank you so much for staying with Belle for me."

"Anytime, Marlena, you just concentrate on taking care of John.. and yourself, okay?"

"I'm the least of my worries right now, but thanks for caring."

Carrie nodded, "I know, Marlena, you are always the last person you take care of and I have to say I have been worried about what all this pressure is doing to you. You need a break from the stress, promise you'll think about it as soon as John is out of danger."

She sighed, feeling very blessed to have this young woman as a daughter and friend. Carrie was so thoughtful, "Thank you, Carrie, I will think about it, you're so sweet to me."

"It's because I love you very much and I don't want anything to happen to you because you're spreading yourself too thin and neither would John or Roman for that matter. It would upset them very much to think that you got sick because of worrying about them, am I right?"

Carrie's insights were on target and Marlena realized the value of her advice in times like these. "Yes, you're right, Carrie. Okay, as soon as I know that John is out of danger, I will rest... allright?"

"Good, that's a start, Marlena. I'll be waiting for you to call, Belle's doing just fine. We've been playing with all the toys and watching videos, so don't worry about her at all."

"Thank you again, Carrie I don't know what I would ever do without you in my life, I love you so much."

"And, I love you, goodbye now."

Marlena immediately dialed the hotel lobby, asking the clerk to page Dr. Mike Horton. Within two minutes, the phone rang. "Hello, Mike?" she asked hopefully.

"Marlena? What's going on there? Carrie said something about John being sick."

"He is, Mike. He called and sounded horrible, he wanted me to come for Brady because he wasn't feeling well, then his voice trailed off and Brady came on the line, saying John was really sick. When I got here with Roman and Eric, John was lying unconscious on the floor of the bathroom. Can you come up and have a look at him. We're waiting on an ambulance, I palpated his abdomen and from his response, I think it's his appendix."

"Oh...well, if it is, you probably don't have long to wait before there's a serious problem, I'm on my way, what room is it again?"

"214, see you soon, thanks Mike."

No problem, I'll be right up." Mike hung up the phone and ran up the stairs. If it was John's appendix, it could be reaching a crisis point at any time, getting ready to rupture and every minute counted.

Marlena was standing in the doorway so he knew right where to go. They didn't exchange pleasantries, Mike went right to John's side to examine him. He lifted up John's shirt, just as Marlena had and palpated the abdomen too, getting a grimace and/or a groan of pain with each contact. "Well, it certainly could be his appendix, when did the symptoms start?"

Marlena proceeded to tell him what Brady had told her about John's complaint of a stomach ache the day before which he had attributed to junk food. "Were there any foods in particular that John mentioned eating in the past 24hours?"

No, he's been too sick to talk much with me, maybe Brady will know. I'll ask him, Mike."

Marlena walked over to where Brady was playing quietly with a few cars and trucks. The boy was trying to be brave, but was obviously worried about his father. "Brady honey...can you tell me about what Daddy ate yesterday besides those cookies you mentioned. Did he order anything from room service, did you eat in the restaurant?"

Brady thought long and hard about that. "We...ate at the McDonald's playland place. Daddy had a chicken sandwich and french fries and I had a hamburger happy meal. We had some cookies, and he started to feel sick pretty soon after we got back here and he laid down for awhile. Then, he woke up all of a sudden and had to throw up. He was better for awhile and then this morning he seemed real sick. I was scared and I said to call you, but he said it was just the flu. He didn't want to ruin your time with uncle Roman and your...other family."

It made her feel guilty to think he was lying here so sick and in pain because he didn't want to disrupt her plans. "Oh, sweety... Daddy should have called me for help. I'm sorry if you were scared and worried about him."

"I'm going to make a quick call and get back to you, excuse me," said Mike, wondering about the food issue. He called the Health Dept and indeed there were scattered reports of food poisoning, from chicken sandwiches at various McDonald's restaurants. "Well, I think we have one potential answer, the health department has received some reports of food poisoning. Guess what from?"

"The chicken sandwich," said three adult voices in unison.

Mike nodded and said, "You've got it, so we may have that problem on it's own or in addition to the appendicitis, we won't know until we get him in to the hospital. Any word on that ambulance?"

Marlena answered quickly,"No, but I was on the phone with Carrie and she suggested we try the Jeep. What do you think, Mike, should we?"

He nodded and said positively, "That's a great idea, we shouldn't wait any longer, it's been over an hour, right?" He was thinking about how smart and quick on her feet Carrie Brady was. 'No Mike, that's Carrie Reed now,' he reminded himself. ' Get her out of your head, Mike' he warned.

Marlena nodded and said with growing concern, "Well over an hour now, since he called me and his fever is around 104 or 105. I'm.. worried about him, Mike."

Mike refocused his attention and agreed, "Yes, that's pretty high," and then he took charge of the situation, assigning tasks to make it happen quickly. "We need to get going, now! Okay, let's get several blankets ready to put around him. Eric, can you go start the Jeep and get the cab warm for us?"

Slightly hesitant, he answered affirmatively, "Uh.. sure I can."

Brady jumped up, saying, "I'll get the keys, they're in Daddy's leather jacket. I'll get them. He reached in to get the keys and inadvertantly pulled out the velvet covered box that John was carrying with him all the time. It dropped to the floor in plain view of everyone in the room and an awkward silence fell over them all. Roman and Marlena instinctively looked at each other as Mike and Eric watched, almost involuntarily for their reaction. After a few excruciating seconds, Marlena turned away so she didn't have to look at Roman's wounded eyes any longer than necessary.

Brady didn't even notice what had happened, but he sensed the tension and said, "Don't worry everybody, here's Daddy's keys, I knew right where they were!"

Eric took the keys and then quickly turned to Roman and asked nervously, "Uh.... Dad you want to come with me?" wanting to help his father out of a difficult moment. He had been hoping to talk with Roman about how he was feeling about the whole situation anyway.

Glad to have an excuse to get out of the room, Roman agreed, "Sure son, let's go. I'll come back in a few minutes and help get him to the Jeep when it's warm enough, allright?" he called over his shoulder to Mike and Marlena.

"Sounds great, thanks for helping out," said Mike appreciatively. When the other two were gone, Mike reached down for the ring box and turned to Marlena. Silently handing it to her, he asked worriedly, "How are you holding up, Marlena?"

She stared mournfully down at the ring box in her hand. She couldn't bear to open it and look at the ring, remembering the joy they both felt on the day he proposed and then paired with that image was the look on his face the day she handed it back to him and the pain she felt in doing so. Placing the small velvet box in John's coat where it was before, she shrugged and said with a hint of sarcasm, "Who me, I'm fine... just fine, Mike."

"Marlena.... come on, this has to be killing you, talk to me."

She nodded, tears born of such mixed emotions filling her eyes.. "Oh, Mike.. I love them both so much, and seeing them sick.. it's just..tearing me apart. I'm so afraid for John right now, but I can't.. comfort him the way I want to, the way he needs me to because Roman is watching and I... can't...hurt him! Did you see his face just now?" she asked as the tears started to overflow their banks.

Clearly the strain was getting to her, and Mike was worried for her health as well. "Marlena... you can't go on like this, the stress is too much for you. It's going to be difficult, but you know what you have to do, don't you?"

Again, she nodded tearfully. "I have to tell Roman the honest truth, that Kristen lied to him and explain why we went along with it. Even though he learned some of it from John, he needs to hear it all from me. He needs to know that I am in love with John and that we are planning to be married."

Mike nodded, pleased to see she was preparing herself for that eventuality. "Yes..Marlena, the longer this goes on, the worse it will get for all of you. Roman's physical recovery is progressing well now. He will be hurt, but it will be only be more painful for him in the long run if you to hold out false hope to him. John mentioned to me what happened between he and Roman; he was worried for your safety and he asked how it might affect Roman, how he might react to you if he knew the truth. I told him I thought Roman needed to be told as soon as possible and that he could handle it."

She sighed with exhaustion, wondering how much more adversity she could handle. "You're right, Mike, I know you are, it's just so hard to dash his hopes that way. He's been so happy, talking about the future and getting close with the kids again and I hate to take all that away from him, you know?"

Mike understood, but it wasn't helpful in any way to continue the lie any further, now that the man's life was not in jeopardy. The pain would be only be more intense the longer the inevitable continued to be delayed. "Marlena, he knows the truth and he's surviving. You have to talk to him so he can accept it... unless." He stopped in his tracks, it was absolutely none of his business.

She turned away from him, not wanting to confront that issue directly, then she glanced over at John's trembling body and her heart broke to see the sight. He looked so weak and vulnerable all curled up, shivering under the blankets. She walked across the room and sat down next to him, dabbing the moisture off his forehead with a towel and running her fingers through his sweat dampened hair. Looking back toward Mike, she said, "No, I haven't changed my mind, I love John with all my heart, Mike. He is..everything to me and I want to wear his ring again, I want to marry him and spend the rest of my life with him."

"Doc..I need you....are you here with me?" John asked in an anxious whisper, having heard her voice. He drifted back to sleep before she could even answer his question.

Mike said his final piece, "Then, don't hurt him any more by putting him off. Tell Roman the truth and then you can all move on with your lives."

She nodded but before she could respond, the door opened with Eric and Roman's return. "We're all set, the Jeep is warm and we can help get John down there now. Are you ready, Doc?" Roman asked, not quite looking in her eyes.

Marlena nodded her head and answered his question. "Yes, I'm ready," she said, stealing a quick look at Mike to answer his unspoken question as well. 'I'm ready for all that lies ahead,' she thought and decided that it was that small velvet covered box that said it all. It symbolized her future and all her hopes and dreams with the man she loved.